Baseball spinning on it's way to get hit.
by Dirt_Diver

Comment:
Aww, 4.8? Underappreciated, imo.

Turboprop
by e301

Comment:
I was dead certain this was gonna ribbon. Shows what I know about DPC voters. Great image, well done :)

Still a Frog
by briandsd

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club.

Aww, what a cute image! I think it fulfills the challenge in two different ways - the frog is obviously very still (especially since you managed to get that picture with a 1.3 sec exposure), and there's also the sweet fairytale take on it - the little guy looks sort of sad, and longing, and he's staring into the distance as if waiting for someone to turn him back into a prince... So if any of the low votes are dnmcs, I think they don't know what they're talking about.

Technical stuff:
-The lighting isn't great. Most of the image appears to be in shadow, which doesn't work well. Understandably, you didn't actually have control over this, but it would've brought the mark down. (where's a flash with a softbox when you need one...)
-I think the composition works well. I like how the frog forms the diagonal of a square crop. As has been commented on, the OOF leaf at the bottom does act as a distraction. Also, I think it might have worked better without the big second leaf which covers up the flower petals at the bottom right. Also, as someone commented, it would have been nice to see the frog's face, but I do think the image works well as it is.
-Not sure about the aperture. In a way it's nice to keep the entire image sharp, but a part of me thinks this might work pretty well as a bokeh. No idea really (just a thought).

Anyway, hope this helps, and well done on a great capture!

Jelena

rockabilly gee-tar
by shernandez7

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club.

Wow, I love this! I'm surprised it didn't score 6+.

Technical stuff: the image is nice and clear, the B&W works extremely well (it really brings out the illustrations on the guitar, and subdues the background which might otherwise be distracting). The DOF is perfect.

I think the POV is what really pulls this picture off for me. It seems to bring the guitar to life - I can almost see it stretching, glancing at the sky, then carrying on with its stroll around town... The empty space to the right reinforces the impression that the guitar is out for a stroll.

No idea what post-processing you did, but it worked well anyway - the image is interesting, without being overprocessed.

Anyway, well done, I love the picture.

Any questions, just PM me.

Jelena

National
by Adubs

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club.

Welcome to DPC! Can't believe this is your first challenge entry... I wish mine was this good!

I think the image is very good. Interesting geometry that draws the viewer in, lovely interplay of light and shadow which works really well in B&W. Nice and sharp and detailed too, even in low res.

Under advanced editing, I would've cloned out the little light in the top left corner, and maybe burned the window in the lower left corner a bit, but as this was under basic editing rules, I think you've done all you could.

I'm actually surprised this didn't score a bit higher, but I would imagine that to an extent you got marked down for the image not being obviously 'still'. Yes, I agree it's as still as it gets, buildings don't move much on the whole, but some DPC voters can be a bit obtuse when it comes to seeing challenge theme connections...

Anyway, fantastic image, and please do keep submitting them!

Message me if you have any questions.

Jelena

spinning wheel
by techdoc

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club.

The image definitely does fulfill the challenge, but I gave it a low mark during voting because I don't like the layout.

The composition could be greatly improved. The spinning wheel itself makes a good image, and I like the effect of the long exposure, but the background is very busy, and distracts from it. Also, the POV could be much better. I probably would've gone for a slightly higher, frontal view. Also, as Citadel mentioned, an off-centre composition tends to be more dynamic. Maybe even just cropping this one more tightly would have worked.

Good score for your second challenge though! Keep on taking pictures, and they'll keep getting better and better.

Jelena

Allen & Esther
by gwsallen

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club.

I really like this image - good idea, well executed.

The composition is perfect - the white space around the rings just makes the shot. Simple and effective, with good lighting and a good background. I like the slight blue/greenish tinge, and the level of sharpening seems just right - the shapes are clear, but still have a nice soft focus fitting for the subject.

There seems to be a bit of noise in the lower right corner, maybe running it through Neat Image would have helped?

Anyway, very good image. The only thing is - the topic has a great emotional potential, which I'm not sure this really taps into... It looks perfect and stylised, but maybe a bit cold, I'm not sure anything genuinely draws the viewer into the idea.

That's about all I can think of. PM me if you have any questions.

Jelena

"Steel" Life
by jerowe

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club.

Wow, what a dramatic image. Fits the challenge well. And god, that's a terrible pun in the title :p

The subject matter is interesting, the POV is good, the movement of the sky nicely contrasts with the stillness of the tower. So in terms of the way the picture was taken, I wouldn't change anything.

In terms of the post-processing:
-The tower isn't quite perfectly centred. If you wanted it to be, it should have been rotated very slightly (1.65 degrees clockwise) before being cropped.
-The image looks a bit oversaturated, particularly some of the clouds. This is a bit difficult to deal with in basic editing, but it might have been worth playing around with 'selective colour' and 'shadows/highlights' adjustments.

But anyway, those are minor points. Well done on a great image!

Jelena

Planet Harley
by neophyte

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club.

A well executed image which fits the challenge well.

The light is just right. The POV is perfect - it fittingly shows an element of pop culture in multitudes, and the row of motorbikes makes a lovely curvy diagonal. The composition is lovely and simple - nothing distracts from the focus of the image. The depth of field works well.

Can't really think of anything you could've done better, to be honest.

During voting, I gave this image a 6. It probably deserved a higher mark, but the mark I gave was partly based on personal aesthetic preference (I'm not a big fan of just machinery on its own, even if it's well photographed). I don't really see any other reason why someone would give it a low mark though.

Well done on a good image. Any questions - just PM me.

Jelena

IPOP
by vincentM

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club.

A very good entry, and a perfect tribute.

The entry is definitely spot on for the challenge. An iPod is very pop culture, and the bright green, and the image repetition and extreme hue shifts in the middle are distinctly reminiscent of pop art a la Andy Warhol. The composition works well for this too.

At first the image struck me as oversharpened, but I think that's just due to the slightly uneven, scratched edges, which at first look a bit like the white halo you get from oversharpening. I think these could definitely do with a fix. They wouldn't take too long to burn or clone out, and I think the improvement would be drastic - pop art is meant to be perfect and posterised, the items used within it shouldn't really be showing signs of wear.

Anyway, that's about all I can think of. Great image, well done!

Jelena